# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 7, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070 "2016-12-07T00:25:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1240
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24785 "2018-08-31T20:46:03Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > No idea but I think this is the first time I’ve read Deep State is the Jews running the US. Good to know, I guess. That is far preferable to the Derp State we currently have, imho. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24786 "2018-08-31T20:50:41Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > So, what is journalistic convention? In the middle of an on-the-record interview can you switch to off-the-record? Traditionally, yes, you can. “_Off the record, my opponent has a hot ass!_” Usually it covers the next statement, maybe two, or until you somehow bookend your otr comments to let the reporter know that all that stuff was off the record. This, of course, is a gentleman’s agreement: if the reporters fails to recognize your gentlemanliness, your “off the record, …” might carry all the weight of saying “wait, don’t shoot” to some miffed VC in the deep jungle. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24787 "2018-08-31T20:56:43Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Traditionally, yes, you can. “_Off the record, my opponent has a hot ass!_” Usually it covers the next statement, maybe two, or until you somehow bookend your otr comments to let the reporter know that all that stuff was off the record. > > This, of course, is a gentleman’s agreement: if the reporters fails to recognize your gentlemanliness, your “off the record, …” might carry all the weight of saying “wait, don’t shoot” to some miffed VC in the deep jungle. Yes, there’s no legal or journalistic body that polices this, but you don’t want to burn your sources. Where it gets a little murkier is when somebody says something, then realizes “oh, shit, I shouldn’t have said that,” and adds “by the way, all that is off the record.” It’s not supposed to work retroactively but, as stated, this is all pretty much convention. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24788 "2018-08-31T21:00:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes, there’s no legal or journalistic body that polices this, but you don’t want to burn your sources. Where it gets a little murkier is when somebody says something, then realizes “oh, shit, I shouldn’t have said that,” and adds “by the way, all that is off the record.” It’s not supposed to work retroactively but, as stated, this is all pretty much convention. It’s one thing if there is an irrelevant comment that may be a bit embarrassing or something, especially if it may be embarrassing to someone not involved in the conversation. It is another if you say one thing on the record, then admit that you are lying about it when you are thought to be off the record. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24789 "2018-08-31T21:09:46Z")
[Trump will study issue of federal worker pay after moving to freeze it](https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/31/politics/donald-trump-corey-stewart-federal-pay/index.html). > [@](#): > > “I’m going to be studying the federal workers in Washington that you have been reading so much about, people don’t want to give them the increase, they haven’t had one in a long time, I said I’m going to study that over the weekend.” [8 months](https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2017/08/trump-authorizes-feds-19-pay-raise-says-greater-increase-not-warranted/140690/) is “a long time”? ---
**Author:** ![Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24790 "2018-08-31T21:21:52Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > So, what is journalistic convention? In the middle of an on-the-record interview can you switch to off-the-record? It’s worth noting that Bloomberg did respect the statement being off-the-record and didn’t officially report it. The Canadian reporter that broke the story [won’t say](https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1035598437977346048) who told him about the statements, but I guess the logical inference is that it was somebody from Bloomberg doing so on the quiet. But with things these days it could have been Trump himself, and it wouldn’t surprise me. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24791 "2018-08-31T21:30:59Z")
> [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](#): > > It’s worth noting that Bloomberg did respect the statement being off-the-record and didn’t officially report it. The Canadian reporter that broke the story [won’t say](https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1035598437977346048) who told him about the statements, but I guess the logical inference is that it was somebody from Bloomberg doing so on the quiet. > > But with things these days it could have been Trump himself, and it wouldn’t surprise me. In an administration that wasn’t comprised entirely of clowns, morons and idiots: Trump would have spoken entirely on the record. If there was additional information he wanted the press to have but not attributed to him (or anyone else specifically), then he would’ve had someone involved in the negotiations call up Bloomberg etc and offer them some off-the-record and/or background stuff. I think it’s the book of All The President’s Men that goes into length on the journalistic norms, and distinctions between OTR, background, and deep background. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24792 "2018-08-31T23:38:38Z")
> [@](#): > > …people don’t want to give them the increase… Now, that right there, that’s fuckin’ adorable! “People” don’t want to, probably Obama, or the Grinch Hillary! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24793 "2018-09-01T00:00:14Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Now, that right there, that’s fuckin’ adorable! “People” don’t want to, probably Obama, or the Grinch Hillary! First thing I noticed. Trump is gonna come back on his white horse and save the day ‘ordering’ that the raises be given. Raises that HE took away. I think SDMB poster Thelma Lou predicted this. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24794 "2018-09-01T00:37:41Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > First thing I noticed. Trump is gonna come back on his white horse and save the day ‘ordering’ that the raises be given. Raises that HE took away. I think SDMB poster Thelma Lou predicted this. The normal 2% should be easy enough. The ~20% “locality” raise might not be on the White Horse Agenda. Will folks believe him if he does that? Are most of his constituency happy that he did not give a raise to Federal employees? Most importantly, do they not realize that the wealthy tax cut was far more than those raises would cost? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24795 "2018-09-01T01:45:30Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > OKAY, OKAY… > > Opinions, please. Today when thump gets up and sees McCain’s name all over the news, he’s going to feel compelled to pull the spotlight onto himself. McCain’s death will be in the news for a while because of lying in state in the Capitol and in Arizona. Lots of tributes and praise from all over. Thump will not be able to STAND being pushed out of the headlines. \*What will he do to upstage the now-deceased McCain? \* Well, it could have been worse. Just a few tantrums. > [@](#): > > Robert Reich > @robertreich > > As attention turns towards McCain’s memorial, Trump is furiously firing off conspiracy theories and attacks on the media (Hillary’s emails, CNN, Comey, etc). Only a true egomaniac would throw a tantrum to distract from a funeral. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24796 "2018-09-01T01:52:07Z")
[Relevant cartoon](http://www.pocho.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/laltrumpmccainfuneral.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24797 "2018-09-01T02:08:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Relevant cartoon](http://www.pocho.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/laltrumpmccainfuneral.jpg) Completely unrealistic. There’s no _way_ Loser Donald knows how to play a drum. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24798 "2018-09-01T12:20:28Z")
It’s no big idea compared with on-going disasters, but the Trump Administration has yet to award any National Medals of Arts, nor National Humanities Medals; nor has it awarded any Presidential Medals of Freedom, etc. There are typically ten National Medals of Arts issued annually; in 2016 Obama awarded ten such medals for 2015 and presumably nominated ten more for 2016 to be awarded 2017. However the 2015 Medals are the last to be issued. Et cetera. The only Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded since 2016 was the award to Joseph Biden in January 2017. I realize it would be too embarrassing for this President to give such an award to someone who actually deserved it, but can’t the White House at least keep these awards active? Give Arts awards to Tiffany and Ivanka, Humanities to Melania, Kushner and Donald Jr.; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Joe Arpaio and to Donald Trump himself. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24799 "2018-09-01T13:39:42Z")
He could give Art Medals exclusively to performers who’ve worked for him, like Aretha Franklin did! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24800 "2018-09-01T14:25:44Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > He could give Art Medals exclusively to performers who’ve worked for him, like Aretha Franklin did! He has all the best Arts Medal winners lined up. Like Scott Baio, Ted Nugent, Roseanne Barr, Aaron Carter and Gary Busey. Can’t wait for the ceremony! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24801 "2018-09-01T14:57:32Z")
I don’t think the Trump White House has hosted any cultural events; they’ve had maybe 1 state dinner? And of course every sports championship team visit is fraught with controversy or doesn’t happen at all. I read it recently and it’s so true: Trump has no interest in being head of state. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24802 "2018-09-01T15:22:37Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > He has all the best Arts Medal winners lined up. Like Scott Baio, Ted Nugent, Roseanne Barr, Aaron Carter and Gary Busey. Can’t wait for the ceremony! Shit!! Gary Busey is a Trump supporter? (His Buddy Holly impersonation just lost some magic.) Damn, I knew he was fucked in the head but not _that_ fucked. I think if a Trump supporter violent revolt ever happens one of the big things to watch out for is that you don’t get fucking drooled on. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24803 "2018-09-01T15:54:35Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > and the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Joe Arpaio and to Donald Trump himself. I think I threw up in my mouth a little. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24804 "2018-09-01T18:29:30Z")
Not news. [Trump golfs during McCain funeral.](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/404687-trump-heads-to-virginia-golf-club) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1239) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1241)